Unintentional
by baby8love
Summary: G/C - *COMPLETED*
1. August 1, 2003

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 1 – August 1, 2003)**

"What do you want me to say, Sara?" Grissom took of his glasses and rubbed his temples in frustration. The headache he had been nursing all through shift showed no indication of leaving. Sara's insistence in 'talking' didn't help at all.  
  
"I want you to tell me what you want."  
  
"I wanna go home." He answered honestly.  
  
"I mean between us! What do you want for us?" Her voice raised with the level of her anger. When he didn't answer, she continued, "Grissom, I don't wanna feel as if that night between us meant nothing but if that is what it comes down to, then at least have the decency to tell me so I can just move on with my life!"  
  
Grissom could tell she was on the verge of tears and that was the last thing he needed right now: a tearful Sara who refused to leave until he gave her a straight answer. He sighed, "I'm sorry."  
  
"So that's it?"  
  
"I don't know what else I can say. I'm sorry, Sara." He watched helplessly as Sara stormed out of his office in tears. Maybe if she had slapped him or even just yelled at him a little more, he wouldn't feel so guilty.  
  
"I wouldn't have believed it if I had heard from someone else."  
  
Grissom's head shot up at the sound of the voice in his doorway. His eyes widened when he found Catherine standing there, looking at him with obvious disgust, "Cath..."

  
"All this time, telling me how much you needed me..." She shook her head, "It was all a lie!"  
  
"No, Catherine, it wasn't. You have to listen to me..."  
  
"And what? To hear you apologize the same way you apologized to Sara for sleeping with her and then dumping her? God...what happened to you?"  
  
Grissom wasn't sure how it happened but it did. He had managed to bring 2 extremely strong women to tears. In one night, no less! He was silent, knowing no matter what he said, Catherine wouldn't believe him. He stayed silent even when Catherine walked away, going the same path as Sara did just a moment earlier.  
  
How did this all happen?

_*To be continued…*_


	2. June 28, 2003 2:00 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 2 – June 28, 2003, 2:00 AM)**

"Catherine?" Grissom found his colleague alone in the break room, staring blankly at a case file.  
  
"She did everything for him. She worked 2 jobs to get him money, she took care of their children, she made sure there was food on his table and clothes on his back...she did everything. And this is what she got in return." Catherine held up the case file for him to see, "Single shot to the right temple. He confessed."  
  
"There's a lot of evil out there." Grissom shook his head sadly, taking a seat beside her on the couch. When she said nothing, he looked at her worriedly and realized what it was that was bothering her. "You're thinking about Eddie?"  
  
"I'm thinking about what it used to be like with Eddie." She corrected him. "Sometimes I wonder why I even stuck around..."

  
"You were in love." He shrugged.  
  
"Blindly." She sighed, closing the folder in her hands, "But I realize I'm already a lot luckier than most women in this world." She tapped the folder with her finger, "At least I'm still alive."  
  
"That, you are." He gave her a small smile.  
  
She smiled in return and got up from the couch, "I'm gonna head home now."  
  
"Do you want a ride?"  
  
"I drove."  
  
"I know but..." He paused, "Are you sure you're ok? I could give you a lift home."  
  
"I'm fine, Grissom." She answered in a tired tone. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
He nodded and watched as she left the room. He knew she wasn't ok but there was nothing he could do if she wasn't willing to confide in him. Sighing, he got up and headed across the hall to check on Greg. The lab tech wasn't there but Sara was.

  
"Hey, I thought you went home."  
  
"Not yet. You should go home though." He glanced at the microscope she had been looking at.  
  
"I will as soon as I finish this." Noticing the concern on his face, she frowned, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing." He shook his head, not one to share his feelings with others. "If Greg comes back, tell him to see me in my office." With that, he exited the DNA area and headed down the hall to his office. Closing the door, he found temporary peace at his desk. But he couldn't stop thinking about Catherine. He worried about her but what could he do? She obviously didn't want to talk to him about whatever was bothering her.  
  
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, not realizing sleep was overcoming him.

_*To be continued…*_


	3. June 28, 2003 2:30 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: A little bit of "Playing With Fire"

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 3 – June 28, 2003, 2:30 AM)**

Grissom snapped out of his deep sleep when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, he found an apologetic-looking Sara standing in front of him.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't know if I should wake you or not...Greg told me to give this to you. He's gone home for the night." She handed him a piece of paper.  
  
Taking it, he studied it and nodded, running his hand over his face to wake himself up, "What time is it?"  
  
"2:30."  
  
"You should go home."  
  
"So should you. That chair doesn't look too comfortable."  
  
He looked at her and sighed, getting up, "Yeah...I think I'm gonna call it a night."  
  
"You think you could drive me home? I was gonna get Warrick to give me a ride but he's still working on his case..."  
  
Locking the office door, Grissom glanced at Sara with caution. Ever since she had asked him out to dinner that night after the explosion in the lab, he had been very careful about his words and actions around her. He had no intention to lead her on. "Sara..."  
  
"I just need a ride." She insisted, correctly deducing his hesitance as a result of her asking him out.  
  
He nodded, "Alright. Um...I uh...need to make a quick call. Why don't I meet you in the parking lot in 5?"  
  
"Ok, I have to grab my jacket from my locker anyways."  
  
Grissom waited until Sara was well down the hall before he reached for his cell phone in his pocket. Flipping it open, he pressed the speed dial button for Catherine's number and waited patiently as the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" Catherine sounded tired but not groggy.  
  
"Did I wake you?" He knew it was a stupid question but it was only polite to ask.  
  
"No, I couldn't sleep."  
  
"Are you ok?"  
  
"You really like that question, don't you?"  
  
"Catherine, if you need to talk..."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Do you want me to come over?"  
  
"No." She answered sternly but quickly softened her tone, "You need to get some rest."  
  
Grissom hesitated to end the call but he knew he had no choice, "Call me if you need to talk."

  
There was a pause on the other end before Catherine answered, "Goodnight, Gil."

  
"Goodnight, Cath." He stuffed his cell phone back into his pocket and shook his head, wishing Catherine could just open up to him. He stood for a moment in deep thought in the hallway before remembering Sara was waiting for him in the parking lot.

_*To be continued*_


	4. June 28, 2003 3:10 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 4 – ****June 28, 2003****, ****3:10 AM****)**

Grissom pulled the car into park and turned to Sara, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow..."  
  
"Do you wanna come in?"  
  
"Sara..."  
  
"Grissom, you know how I feel and I know I can't force you to do anything you don't want to but when are you going to wake up and realize if you don't start taking some risks, you're going to regret it?"  
  
"What makes you think by taking risks, I won't have any regrets?"  
  
"You're just never gonna change, are you?" She looked at him disappointedly and got out of the car.  
  
Everything in his body told him not to follow her. Not to fall for the obvious guilt trip she was trying to lay on him. He watched in conflict as Sara headed inside. It wouldn't hurt to walk her up to her apartment, would it? He knew he didn't mean anything. Would she get the wrong idea? This wasn't particularly the best neighbourhood. He took out his cell phone, ready to call Catherine again, as if she would give him the answer he was looking for.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Grissom reluctantly turned off the ignition and followed Sara's path into the lobby of her apartment where she was still waiting for the elevator, "Sara!"  
  
She turned around, surprised, but not unhappy, to see him there, "You came..."  
  
Grissom wasn't sure why he had. Maybe he felt guilty. Maybe he was ready to take a risk. Maybe...  
  
He waited, still deep in thought, as Sara unlocked her door and invited him inside. He had never been to her apartment and was surprised to find it rather bland. Not sure why, he had always pictured her place to be more lively, like...

  
"It's not much to look at but it's a comfortable place to live in." She noticed his curious looks around her living room.  
  
Suddenly very aware that he was in Sara's apartment with Sara by his side, he took a deep breath, not sure what to expect next, "It's nice." He answered, half-lying. He had always liked decorated apartments, even if his own didn't fit the description.

  
"You want something to drink? I've got beer." She offered brightly, heading into the kitchen.  
  
"No, I'm good."  
  
"Ok...uh...there's not much to do around here..."  
  
"Sara, I should really get going."  
  
"Grissom," She surprised him by stopping him with her hand. Ignoring his panicked look down at her hand that was holding onto his arm now, she continued, "it's late, you could crash here if you want."  
  
"I..." Before he could answer, his cell phone went off in his pocket. Sighing in relief, he quickly reached for it and was even more relieved when he heard the voice on the other end.  
  
"Grissom? It's me."

_*To be continued*_


	5. June 28, 2003 4:30 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine.

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 5 – ****June 28, 2003****, ****4:30 AM****)**

Grissom made it to Catherine's place within 10 minutes, despite the fact that it was normally a 20-minute ride from Sara's. Without a moment of hesitation, he rang the doorbell. He had practically raced out of Sara's the moment he heard Catherine on the other end of the line. He was in his car and out of the parking lot before he even hung up. And now here he was, on her front step, waiting for her to open the door and reveal to him why she had called.

"Grissom?"

He had been so engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed the door open. Snapping out of his reverie, he gave Catherine a sheepish grin while still retaining a note of concern in his voice, "I got here as fast as I could."

"Yeah, I noticed. I called you 10 minutes ago. The lab's half an hour away." Catherine answered with a smile of her own as she stepped aside to let him in. She didn't speak again until they were both seated in the living room. "Thanks for coming."

"I meant it when I told you I was here to listen." He frowned when his sincere comment was met with a laugh. "What?"

She shook her head, "It's just unusual...hearing you speak so..."

"Humanly?"

"It's just unlike you, that's all."

"If you're trying to change the subject, Catherine, I'm afraid it's not going to work."

"Would you be angry if I told you I didn't ask you over to talk?" When he didn't answer, she continued, "Lindsey's at summer camp and I didn't want to be in an empty house tonight."

"So I'm a random substitute."

"That's not what I said..."

"I didn't say I minded." He smiled reassuringly, "When I don't want to talk, you don't bother me...too much." They exchanged smiles. "So if you don't want to talk, that's ok with me."

"How come you're not like this in front of the others? It would definitely stop those rumours going around about you being a robot."

"I don't care what others think." He paused, then added quietly, "I care what you think."

Knowing a request for an expansion of his comment would make him uncomfortable, Catherine merely smiled and offered to make some coffee, "So were you just leaving the lab?" She asked as she headed into the kitchen.

"Uh...yeah, just about." Grissom wasn't sure why he had lied. It would've been perfectly simple to explain his presence at Sara's but before he could even think it over, the words had escaped his mouth. Wanting to change the subject, he followed her into the kitchen and offered to whip up something for them to eat.

_*To Be Continued*_


	6. July 4, 2003 11:00 PM

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: To Halve And To Hold (tiny, tiny mention)****

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 6 – ****July 4, 2003****, ****11:00 PM****)**

"I thought you said we had a case?" Catherine frowned, noticing the unusual route Grissom was taking.

"We do." Was all Grissom said in reply.

"You said it was a murder."

"It is."

"This isn't another one of those cases where we have to search every inch of the desert for bones, is it?"

"No."

"Is the body somewhere here?"

"You're awfully talkative tonight." He glanced briefly at her before returning his eyes to the bumpy desert path ahead, "Even for you, I mean."

She shot him a glare and shook her head when she noticed his smirk, "Where are we going?"

"A crime scene, I told you."

"I know what you told me, Grissom." She pulled out his name to emphasize her annoyance with him, "I just don't believe you."

"Why not?"

"Well for one, I haven't seen any cop cars and the last time I checked, crime scenes were littered with them. And second of all, you still haven't shown me the case file."

"Observant." He smirked again, "I knew there was a reason why I recruited you back in the day." Glancing at her, he stopped the car and turned off the ignition.

"Ok, so what now?" She asked as her eyes wandered around the dark desert curiously.

"You'll see." He answered mysteriously and got out of the car.

Quickly following suit, she hurried to the back of the car where Grissom had opened the trunk and was now rummaging through a box of unknown items, "What's that?"

"Can you stop asking me questions and just trust me this one time?"

She looked at him for a moment then sighed and returned to the front of the car. Crossing her arms, she looked up at the starry night and a while later, was joined by Grissom, who had something in his arms. "Am I still not supposed to ask?"

"Yes." He smiled and continued walking ahead, stopping about 15 feet away from the car. He proceeded to place the items on the ground and it was only then that Catherine realized what they were. After lining them up perfectly, he ran back to where she was standing, "What?" He asked, noticing her smile.

"Fireworks?"

"It *is* July 4."

"So you don't believe in celebrating your own birthday but you'll put on a fireworks show for Independence Day?"

"My birthday is inconsequential."

"And Independence Day is important enough for all this work?"

"Someone once told me that celebrating a national holiday was a way to connect with others."

"That was me."

He turned to her with a smile and handed her a remote with several buttons, "Wanna do the honours?"

"No, what I do want is for you to tell me why."

"It's Independence Day...?"

"I'm not talking about the fireworks, Grissom. Why did you do all this? It's not like you to skip work just to enjoy a fireworks show."

"I'm not skipping work. Neither are you. I told Warrick ahead of time. He's in charge tonight."

"So everything at the lab earlier was just an act?"

"Well Warrick was part of the act. Nick and Sara have no idea. Are you mad?" He asked cautiously.

She shook her head, "No, just confused."

"About what?"

"About you."

"Me?"

"You've been so good to me lately! I mean, not that you haven't been good to me since day one but you've been unusually good to me this past week. Actually, ever since I called you that night..."

"I thought you've always wanted me to be more like a 'friend' to you?"

"I have and I'm not complaining. I just wanna know what changed?"

"I guess I realized you deserved more than how I had been treating you. And then once I started, I realized it wasn't really that hard being a friend." So he hadn't completely lied. What he said was true. He had realized how easy it was to be caring and sensitive and all those things Catherine had always wanted in him. But he hadn't exactly told the entire truth. Guilt played a huge part in what he was doing. Ever since that night, though he hadn't done anything with Sara, the mere consideration of it was enough to make him want to make things up to Catherine. He was sure it would've been better if he just told her the truth but it was too late for that. She would only get angry if she found out now.

"Gil?"

"Yes?" He snapped out of his thoughts.

"Let's see some fireworks." She smiled, pointing at the remote in his hands.

Her smile and her blindness to the truth only served to make his guilt heavier. He smiled back as best as he could and watched in conflict as she happily set off the fireworks into the beautiful desert sky.

***To be continued***


	7. July 25, 2003 1:00 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine.

Spoilers: Very little of Inside The Box

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 7 – July 25, 2003, 1:00 AM)**

"What?" Catherine tried to sound annoyed but the big grin on her face gave her away.

"Nothing." Grissom shook his head innocently, immediately dropping his gaze back down to the case files on his desk.

"Right..." She answered, obviously unconvinced. Ever since that night Grissom had stayed over to keep her company, she had sensed that he had something to say to her. The feeling was only made more concrete by the fireworks show he had prepared for her for Independence Day. She had waited for him to tell her on her own but she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So taking this opportunity, she decided to go for it, "I know I'm more interesting to look at than your paperwork but really, Gil."

"I wasn't looking at you." He answered a little too quickly.

"Gee, thanks." She narrowed her eyes at him and pretended to be insulted.

"That's not what I meant!"

"I was just kidding, Grissom." She chuckled but stopped promptly when she realized having fun on his part wasn't the point of this conversation. "So?"

"So what?"

"Are you going to tell me why you've been looking at me for the past hour?"

"I haven't been."

"Fine. Correction, are you going to tell me why you've been subtly *peeking* at me for the past hour?"

He pursed his lips and gave her a look before shaking his head, "It's nothing."

"If it's nothing, then why can't you just tell me?"

"Do I have to define what 'nothing' means?" He asked mockingly with a raised eyebrow.

"Gil..."

"It's really nothing, Cath."

"Then just say whatever's on your mind! Whatever's *been* on your mind for the past month!"

He looked at her, as if considering her suggestion but then shook his head again and repeated, "It's nothing."

"And here I thought we were actually making progress." She answered with a sigh. He looked at her but said nothing so she continued, "I thought I had finally gotten through to you. That you had finally seen the light and decided to actually open up to me. I guess I was wrong."

"I said I wanted to be a better friend. I meant it."

"Then show me."

"Why don't you trust me enough to decide what I should and shouldn't say?"

"Oh, don't push the blame on me! You know how much I trust you. I just wonder sometimes how much you trust *me*."

"You know I trust you."

"Is that why you keep hiding things from me?"

"Knowledge is power but ignorance can be bliss, Catherine."

She took a deep breath, leveling off her anger, knowing it wouldn't do either of them any good for her to get anymore frustrated by the situation. "Can you just promise me that this doesn't have anything to do with your health? I don't exactly enjoy hearing about impromptu surgeries and whatnot."

He had never even considered the possibility that Catherine would suspect this had something to do with his hearing. But now that she had mentioned it, he realized why she would think it and it only added more to his guilt. "I promise."

Though, for once, he was actually telling the truth, it didn't make him feel any better. This was only one truth out of a pack of lies that had sprung from one incident. There was no turning back now and if she ever found out what he had been hiding from him, he wasn't sure what would happen.

_*To Be Continued*_


	8. August 2, 2003

Disclaimers: Not mine.

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 8 – ****August 2, 2003****)**

Grissom entered the break room and immediately, his eyes darted over to the community fridge where Catherine was taking out a bottle of water. He hadn't spoken to her since last night, when she had overheard and misunderstood Sara's outburst. The room was empty and he knew this was his chance to speak to her about what she had heard. Before he could even say her name though, his pager went off. He cursed under his breath as he looked down to check it and when he looked back up, Catherine was looking at him. "Uh...it's Brass, we've got a 419 out in the desert."  
  
Instead of her usual barrage of questions, she simply nodded and walked past him out the door. Any hope he had that she had forgotten or at least forgiven the situation was gone. He sighed and followed her down the hallway. This was going to be a long night.  
  
They reached the desert in less than 10 minutes. The last time they were here, he had honestly thought she would never find out about his lie. The fireworks were beautiful, their time spent together was beautiful, everything was just beautiful. He wondered if she was thinking about that night like he was.  
  
"I'll take the surroundings." She said as she hopped out of the car.  
  
It was more a final statement than anything else so Grissom agreed in silence. He walked over to the dead body where Brass was already waiting for him. "Meet David Wyatt. 25, single, underwear model."  
  
"Did he have a photo shoot out here?" Grissom asked with a raised eyebrow, noticing the lack of clothes on the dead man.  
  
"That or he just really likes how he looks in underwear."  
  
Not in the mood for humour, Grissom continued by pointing at a nearby car, "His?"  
  
"Indeed it is. Nice, huh? Ferrari 360 Modena. Newest model."  
  
"That's at least 150 grand. Can he afford that?"  
  
"He can with a side job."  
  
Both men turned to find Catherine holding up a business card. Taking it from her, Grissom read the name, "Lyle Ricks..." The moment the name rolled off his tongue, he looked up at Catherine again, "Lyle Ricks? Isn't that..."  
  
"The most infamous pimp in Vegas? Yes."  
  
"Didn't he go to jail?"  
  
"Released last year. He's been pretty much in hiding since and he's doing a pretty damn good job of it too. We've had suspicions that he's still running his game but we've never been able to find any evidence." Brass explained.  
  
"He learned his lesson the first time. If it's true that he's doing this all over again, he's not going to let you guys catch him that easily."  
  
"That's all that was found in the car." Catherine took the card back from Grissom and slipped it into a plastic bag for evidence.

  
"No clothes?"  
  
She shook her head, "None." She looked down at the body, "Lack of blood on the ground. This is just a dump site."  
  
Brass shook his head in confusion, "So what? Killer drove here, dumped Model Boy and left by foot? We're quite far from the main road."  
  
"Maybe an accomplice." Grissom suggested with a shrug as he continued to examine the head wound, "There's a lack of blood around the wound too. It's too clean."  
  
"You think the killer washed him before he dumped the body?"  
  
"Maybe." Grissom stood up and motioned for the coroner's people to take the body away.  
  
"I'm gonna get my people to search Lyle Ricks out." Brass offered before heading to his car.  
  
Aware that they were alone now, Grissom turned to Catherine, "Can we talk?"  
  
"We should get this evidence back to the lab." She closed her kit and began to walk to their SUV.  
  
"Cath, please."  
  
"No personal stuff during work time. Isn't that what you always tell us?" She said, not without anger.  
  
"So is this how it's going to be? You running away from me when all I wanna do is explain to you the truth?"  
  
"I gave you a chance to tell me the truth! You had an entire month to tell me you slept with Sara! You didn't. I found out anyway and it's done. I don't wanna talk about this anymore." She motioned with her hand and continued her way back to the Tahoe.

_*To be continued*_


	9. August 3, 2003 MIDNIGHT

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 9 – ****August 3, 2003****, ****Midnight****)**

"Hey, sorry, I was talking to Doc Robbins about our DB. Did you find Lyle Ricks?" Grissom rushed into his office where Brass and Catherine were already waiting.

"No, the guy's completely disappeared. No trails, nothing." Brass shook his head in frustration.

"Then why the 911 page?" Grissom held up his pager for added effect.

"Because we have a plan."

"We?" Grissom glanced at Catherine, who had stayed unusually quiet.

"There's only one way to contact Lyle Ricks or those around him. We have to bait him out."

"Bait him out?" Grissom repeated the words then quickly turned to Catherine. He now understood why she had stayed so quiet. "No way! There is no way in hell I'm letting Catherine do this."

At his outburst, Catherine's head shot up, "Don't you think that should be my choice to make?"

"It's too dangerous!"

"It's my choice!"

"I don't care! I'm not letting you do this!"

Brass watched with wide eyes as the exchange continued for a while longer. He wanted to back up and out the door but knew that might only bring some of that anger onto him. So he stayed put, watching in awkward curiousity.

"This is ridiculous! We should be doing everything we can to find Lyle Ricks!"

"Everything but risking your life!"

"I'm not gonna risk my life! I'm simply going to pretend to be some rich woman who wants to get some action!"

"If this guy really had something to do with David Wyatt's death, you'll be danger! Look, you're not being the bait. End of discussion!"

"Just because you're the boss doesn't mean you get to pull rank! I've decided and that's that!" Catherine turned around and stormed out of the office.

Brass watched her then slowly turned back to Grissom, "I take it things are a little shaky between you and Catherine."

"It's nothing. She's just being stubborn."

Brass snorted, "Oh and like you aren't."

"Is it so wrong that I don't want to put her in any danger?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is you acting like this is completely your decision to make."

"Jim, not you too."

"Hey, all I'm saying is, if you want her to see things your way, you better be ready to see things her way." Brass held up his hands defensively, "And anyway, we had no intention of using Catherine."

"What?"

"We've got uniforms for undercover jobs, Gil. As much as you'd like to believe that CSI's do all the work, it's not true. And if you had bothered to listen, I would've told you that and you and Catherine would still be speaking civilly to each other."

"I doubt that." Grissom muttered to himself.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing. Why didn't Catherine just tell me that then? Why didn't *you* tell me that?"

"I know better than to interrupt a fight between the two of you. I'd rather keep my head on my neck, thank you very much." Brass chuckled as Grissom shook his head tiredly, "You look tired. Go home and get some rest. Won't be much work to do until we find Lyle Ricks. But before you head out, might I suggest you find Catherine and sort things out with her? It's never good to leave things overnight."

Overnight? More like a month's worth of overnights. Grissom sighed as Brass left the room. Either way, whether she listened to him or not, he knew it was time to have a talk with Catherine.

_*To be continued*_


	10. August 3, 2003 12:30 AM

Disclaimers:  Not mine.

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter ****10 – 12:30 AM****)**

Grissom wandered down the hallway as casually as he possibly could. He was in a rush to find Catherine but he wasn't about to let others know it. He peeked into every room, making sure not to catch anyone's eyes, knowing if that happened, they might question him on who he was looking for. He had made it past 4 different lab areas when finally, he was caught.

"Hey Grissom! You looking for somebody?"

Turning around rather slowly, Grissom shook his head, hoping his simple answer would satisfy Warrick, "No."

"Well I am. Have you seen Nick? He was supposed to meet up with me at the morgue. He never showed up."

Grissom shook his head again, "Try paging him."

"I did. You seen Sara? She seems to have disappeared too."

"No, I haven't."

Noticing Grissom's eyes were busy darting around, Warrick chuckled, "Are you sure you're not looking for somebody?"

Grissom looked at Warrick seriously then lowered his voice as if afraid somebody else might hear him, "Have you seen Catherine?"

"Yeah, actually. I saw her in the locker room earlier but..."

"Thanks." Without allowing Warrick to finish, Grissom walked away, not willing to waste another second he could've been using to talk to Catherine. He reached the locker room and was surprised to find the door was closed. The door was never closed. He looked around him and was glad to find the hallway was empty. He knocked on the door, "Cath?"

Silence.

"Catherine? Are you in there?" He reached for the doorknob and found that the door wasn't only closed, it was locked. "Cath?" He knocked on the door again.

This time, his knock was met with a muffled noise. He couldn't hear what had been said but he was sure it sounded something like 'go away'.

Checking again, he found the space around him and the locked door was still empty. He sighed, "Catherine, I know you're in there." He waited for an answer but got none. "I know you're angry with me and I know I'm the last person you want to see right now but you really need to hear what I have to say. So whether you like it or not, I'm going to talk and I hope you'll listen." He paused but no protests came through so he continued, "Catherine, I didn't..."

"Grissom? What are you doing?"

Grissom's eyes widened at the sound of the voice behind him. He turned around and found Catherine looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Cath!"

"Who are you talking to?" She looked at him oddly.

"I..." He looked at the locked door then back at her, "I thought..."

"You thought what? Who's in there?" She tried the doorknob, "Why is this locked?"

"I don't know." He shook his head, still a little shocked to find the person he thought was inside, wasn't after all. "I thought *you* were in there."

"No...." She shook her head, still looking at him as if he was crazy. "I was but I bumped into Warrick. He was trying to find Nick and Sara so I thought I'd try to help him out. I didn't end up finding them though. Is anyone even in there?"

Grissom shrugged silently.

"Don't you have a key?"

He shook his head, again in silence.

"But you're the supervisor!"

"Of night-shift, Catherine, not of the entire lab."

She rolled her eyes and headed down the hallway, "Well somebody's gotta have a key around here."

Taking her comment as an open invitation, he followed readily. He didn't care how long it took, he was going to get her alone.

_*To be continued*_


	11. August 3, 2003 1:30 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 11 - ****August 3, 2003****, ****1:30 AM****)**

"I wonder who was in that room..." Catherine muttered to herself as she and Grissom made their way towards the parking lot. By the time they and someone on the janitorial staff had made their way back to the locker room, the door was wide open and the room was empty. 

"Whoever it was, they obviously didn't want us to know they were in there."

Grissom's voice made Catherine snap out of her thoughts. She had been so absorbed with the mystery of the locked locker room that she had forgotten her earlier outburst towards Grissom. "I'm going home." Her sharp statement was meant to detour him from continuing to follow her.

He stopped walking and looked at her with slight panic in his eyes, "I...I need to talk to you."

"About work?"

"No."

"Well then we have nothing to talk about." She rummaged through her purse for her keys as she turned away and began walking to her car.

"Catherine, wait!"

Sighing, she turned around to face him, "Grissom, I don't want to hear your excuses or your explanation or whatever it is you wanna say. Please, I'm tired and I just really wanna go home to my daughter, ok?"

She gave him one last tired look before she turned away again and continued walking. Once she reached her car and got in, she wasn't sure if she felt relieved or disappointed that Grissom hadn't tried to stop her. She scanned the parking lot and found that he had already left. With a shake of her head, she turned on the ignition and pulled the car out of the parking spot. The car had barely gotten past the next spot when she slammed on the brakes.

"What the hell are you doing?" She rolled down the window and stuck her head out of the car to look at Sara, who had walked right out in front of the car.

"I need to talk to you."

Rolling her eyes, Catherine groaned, "Why does everyone wanna talk tonight? I'm tired, Sara. I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait." Sara was right up there with Grissom on the list of people she didn't want to talk to.

"No, it can't. This is about Grissom." Sara made her way to the side of the car so she could speak with Catherine without yelling.

"Sara, I know enough about you and Grissom. I don't want the details."

"Catherine, can you just stop being stubborn for once and listen?"

Catherine's eyes widened as her anger flared up, "Sara, you're the last person I wanna talk to right now so if you'll excuse me..."

"Fine, keep driving. Just run away! You know, I thought Grissom meant more to you than that. But if that's what you wanna do, then go ahead and keep driving."

The two women stared each other down until finally, realizing driving away would only make things worse, Catherine re-parked her car and prepared herself for whatever it was Sara wanted to say.

_*To be continued*_


	12. August 3, 2003 1:45 AM

Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

Author's Note:  This chapter's dedicated to my friend Julez, who's as much of an N/S-er as I am a G/C-er…which is saying a lot. :)

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 12 - August 3, 2003, 1:45 AM)**

"10 minutes, Sara."  Catherine glanced at her watch impatiently as she followed Sara to a secluded area near the lab.

"You heard us that night in Grissom's office."

Sara's comment was more of a statement then a question but Catherine nodded anyway.

"I didn't sleep with Grissom."

"If this is just going to be a repeat of everything he's already said to me, then save it, ok?  I've already heard this bit from him."

"And you don't believe us."

Catherine said nothing.

"Look, you don't have to believe me but when has Grissom ever lied to you?"

"He has been for the past month.  He had an entire month to tell me the truth and he never did.  I don't think I would've ever found out if I hadn't overheard the two of you!  A month worth of lies, Sara, I think that's more than enough."

"Nothing happened that night!  He gave me a ride home and I invited him up to my place.  Yes, I admit it, I had more than just coffee on my mind but the moment he got your call, he raced out of my place."

Catherine looked at her for a moment before shaking her head, "Why are you doing this?  Just a few days ago you were yelling at Grissom about your future together.  If you still love him, then why are you telling me this?"

"Because I now know how much you mean to him."  Sara hesitated for a second before continuing, "I was in that locker room tonight."

"What?"

"The locker room.  I was the one who locked the door."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter.  What matters is Grissom was there.  He was ready to pour his heart out and he would've if he hadn't realized you weren't the one on the other side of the door.  I have never seen him this way, Catherine."

"So…what?  Your feelings for him just suddenly disappeared?"

"No, but I realized that being in love shouldn't be about being blind.  Grissom's not the only guy out there and even if he was, I know that I would never have a chance with him because he's in love with you."

"I don't know what to say…"

"It doesn't matter what you say to me.  What matters is what you say to Grissom.  I think he's still in his office."

Catherine looked at Sara and for the first time in a very long time, she smiled, "Thanks."  She began walking back towards the lab but stopped a few steps in and turned back around, "Oh yeah, just a little advice, the locker room's not the greatest place to get it on…even with someone as cute as Nick."

Sara opened her mouth to protest but Catherine had already turned around and continued walking away.

_*To be continued*_


	13. August 3, 2003 2:00 AM

Disclaimers: Still not mine.

Spoilers: Nope

**+++++**

**UNINTENTIONAL**

**(Chapter 13 - ****August 3, 2003****, ****2:00 AM****)**

Grissom ran his hand over his face and exhaled loudly. He wished he could pinch himself and realize it was all just a dream. No, a nightmare. A nightmare that wouldn't end. But he was wide awake. More awake than he had ever been, actually. How did this happen? How did he lose so much control in so little time? How did he lose Cath...

"Knock, knock."

Grissom's head shot up and was visibly shaken by the sudden noise. It took a minute for him to realize he was still wide awake and the silhouette in his doorway was in fact a familiar one. "Catherine?"

"Hey." Catherine took a step forward so that the lighting from the hallway illuminated her face instead of shadowing it, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's fine, you didn't." Grissom cleared his throat, giving a half-coughing noise that only added to his obvious awkwardness.

Catherine smiled and decided to start the conversation, knowing full well Grissom wasn't going to, "I bumped into Sara while trying to race home."

Grissom's eyes widened and he began getting up from his chair, "Catherine, lemme explain...whatever she said..."

"You know, I think you and I both give Sara a lot less credit than we should."

"What?" Grissom gave her a 'huh?' look as he sat back down.

"She told me nothing happened between you and her that night."

There was a long pause as Grissom processed this information.

"She also told me that you going up to her apartment was completely her idea and that you left the moment I called you."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past few days."

"I know."

"So you didn't believe me the hundred times I told you but one time from Sara and it's a done deal?"

"I had my doubts."

"So...what changed your mind?"

"The fact that it was Sara who was telling me. I know how she feels about you...or I should say, how she *felt* about you."

Grissom frowned at the smirk on Catherine's face, "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, she's moved on."

"Already?"

"Disappointed?" Catherine raised an eyebrow at him.

Grissom pursed his lips together and shook his head, "No, just surprised."

"Don't think too highly of yourself, Grissom. She was bound to move on some time."

"That's not what I meant, it's just..."

"I know." Catherine nodded, "I was surprised too. I thought she still had feelings for you, which is why I was surprised that she would be so honest with me. I guess that's what made me believe her. She had no reason to lie to me."

"And I had?"

"Can we just agree that it was stupid for you not to tell me the truth when you should've and it was equally stupid for me not to believe you when you tried to tell me eventually?"

Grissom made his way around his desk to where Catherine was standing, "So does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"It means we're even."

"I didn't know we were keeping score." Grissom grinned.

Catherine shook her head and smiled tiredly, "We aren't."

"Catherine?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you know I never meant to hurt you or Sara. Everything that happened, it was all unintentional. You have to believe me. The last thing I would ever want to do is..."

"Gil?"

"I should stop while I'm ahead, shouldn't I?"

Catherine nodded and settled in his arms, "I think so."

Grissom chuckled and kissed her hair, "Hey, so who has Sara moved on to?"

"You'll never guess..."

_*THE END*_


End file.
